


The Heart of Winter

by iL0Vsuperman



Series: Touch of Cold [1]
Category: Frozen (2013), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Arendelle, Coming of Age, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Hurt, Jesla, Origin Story, Origins, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-01-26 21:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1702925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iL0Vsuperman/pseuds/iL0Vsuperman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack Frost's only responsibility as the spirit of winter was to start the season and cause some mischief along the way...until he accidentally curses Arendelle's unborn princess. </p><p>With his curse, Elsa not only gains wintery powers but also the ability to see him and Jack's new-found responsibility becomes the best thing that ever happened to him. A human had never been able to see him until her and she becomes the closest thing he ever had to a friend.</p><p>Yet everything changed when Elsa's parents die and she finds out Jack is the cause of her curse. </p><p>In the heart of a winter that was never meant to be, Jack and Elsa discover what it really means to love, the sacrifices it entails, and the consequences of their actions...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Magic of Winter

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan-fiction, I hope everyone enjoys! :)
> 
> The story takes place from the day of Elsa's birth to just after the events of Disney's Frozen. It also takes place centuries before the Rise of the Guardians movie.  
> It is all seen from Jack Frost's POV.

The day prior had been bright, hot, and sunny leaving the entire kingdom to believe the next day would be similar. However, the citizens of Arendelle woke that spring morning to an unexpected layer of frost, random patches of slick ice, and a bitter cold breeze that chilled them to the bone. The children embraced the unexpected change in weather with glee while their parents grumbled about having to unpack the winter clothing.

Once their parents wrestled them into their coats, the children ran into the streets and migrated to the castle courtyard. Because of the two large fountains, the tiles in courtyard were always wet and on this cold morning they had frozen solid.

All across the city, the children could be heard as the walls of the courtyard echoed their joyful laughter. Whenever their parents or other adults paused in their work, they would hear their laughter and smile as they remembered their own youthful experiences.

From atop one of the walls overlooking the courtyard, sat Jack Frost. He was watching the merriment with a wily grin. He always enjoyed watching and playing with the children but today he took particular joy from this merriment because his presence, and frost, was messing with a particular rabbit’s season.

Jack looked human but was a winter spirit. He appeared to be a young adult but was, in fact, decades old, maybe even centuries. He was not too sure he never actually measured his age. He was tall, lithe, and thin. He had eyes as blue as the heart of an iceberg and his skin was as pale as fresh snow but his hair was a whiter shade, like fogged ice. Frost always collected on his clothes, staff, and skin.

Arendelle was a part of the Northern Kingdoms. In the north, winters were colder but the children found more joy in the familiar weather than those to the south. He did not just come north to mess with the Easter Bunny, he also came because he missed the northern children’s joy.

He dived down into the courtyard as his staff pulled him down. He did not land but flew around the outer edges to the courtyard. He circled the courtyard, icing it over until it was a complete ring.

The children slowly discovered Jack’s gift. They began to race along the track, first individually but they quickly formed one solid mass. It became a spectacle and some of the younger children drifted to the center of the courtyard to watch while the adults looked on from open window or the castle doors.

“Catch me if you can!” He taunted the children with a snicker. They did not hear him, they never did. Jack felt a twinge of sadness in his chest for the briefest of seconds but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He flew in front of the children and, for a few seconds, he pretended they really were chasing him. He shook his head and chuckled to himself.

He was only a winter spirit. He was not a Guardian or a Holiday Spirit. He was merely Jack Frost, the spirit of winter. Thanks to him autumn became winter. The adults hated his coming. He killed whatever was left of their crops, froze their water sources, and created inconvenience after inconvenience in their lives. The children, however, loved the coming of winter. It meant they no longer had to work in the fields with their parents and were free to play to their hearts’ content. Jack was happy to help in their play.

Wherever he flew he cast new, slick frost making the ice slippery. The children wobbled wildly and linked arms. He smirked when he saw their teamwork. Jack suddenly sped up so fast that he was behind them in seconds then. With a light kick, he was floating above them in a blink of an eye.

“You know,” he said to the kids below him. “You guys are making me dizzy.”

Suddenly, one of the boys in the center of the group lost his footing and fell, dragging the children who had linked arms with him down with him. It caused a chain reaction and the rest of the children fell. The children at the front of the group fell forward, falling straight toward the courtyard wall.

With his staff, Jack hit the wall the children were flying toward. Frost and soft snow fell off the wall where it had collected in alcoves and smaller cracks. However, most of it came from his staff, creating a large enough pile of snow for the children to pile into without getting hurt. To the adults, it looked like snow had fallen off the wall just in time to save the younger ones.

The children were a tangled mess of bodies and flailing limbs. They slowly unraveled themselves with a chorus of mad giggles. Their exposed flesh had turned bright red from the cold frost and snow but their eyes sparkled with mischief.

Encouraged, Jack swung his staff in a perfect loop around him, spewing more snow throughout the courtyard. He then circled the curved upper half of his staff over his open hand. Bright blue snowflakes fell from his staff. They turned white and then fell onto his palm, forming a snowball.

“Snowball fight!” He announced victoriously and threw his snowball at the closest child. The children reacted immediately and went flying in all directions to the new snow drifts. Within seconds, snowballs were flinging in all directions and the courtyard became a flurry of flying orbs of snow.

More onlookers came to watch, including the king and queen. They stood together at the main doors and the couple watched the children play with wistful smiles on their faces. The queen rubbed her round belly where her unborn baby slept. She looked up to the king and they exchanged a knowing glance, soon their son or daughter would be playing among these children.

Jack spared the royal couple a glance before returning his full attention to the battle. Everyone threw snowballs at everybody. There were no teams and the children seemed to never hit the same person twice.

One snowball hit the king in the shoulder. He laughed, bent down, and rolled a snowball of his own. He threw it into the fray, hitting one of the older children. He continued making snowballs and the queen knelt beside him and started making snowballs too. The queen mostly hid behind the king as they entered the skirmish and always kept a protective hand over her belly.

By this point, the afternoon sun had broken through the winter clouds Jack had dragged with him from the south (where the clouds were supposed to be since the south was in its cold season [the children in the south, incidentally, were currently enjoying an unusually hot day in the dead of winter]). The snow quickly began to turn into slush under the sun’s rays.

“Hold on guys!” Jack said. He swung his staff around and magical blue snowflakes shot from the curve of his staff. The blue snowflakes turned white before hitting the children and the snow, making everything colder.

“Brrr,” the king hissed as Jack’s icy blast washed over him. He wrapped his arm over his queen’s shoulder and said, “It is cold out here, do you want to go back inside?”

“No,” she replied with a sweet smile, meant only for him. She leaned into his chest and said, “The brisk air is refreshing.”

They stepped off to the side, taking a break from the snowball fight. Jack did not notice. He was focused on maintaining the merriment. He grasped his staff tightly with both hands and jumped on the courtyard wall. He ran along the wall, dragging the staff behind him like a heavy plough. Blue snowflakes shot off his staff like sparks in a wildfire. Wherever they landed they left behind frigid ice. Jack kept his eyes on the blue snowflakes, making sure they hit no one. In his entire existence, he had never once let a living thing touch his blue snowflakes. When they turned white they were as safe as an everyday snowflake. When they were blue, however, they were not only freezing cold but were filled with a powerful magic. He had no idea what kind of effect it would have on a human and he did not want to find out.

He had almost circled the entire courtyard when he came upon the gargantuan, open doors to the castle. There was a small crowd of servants standing with the doorway which he kept an eye on, not wanting to hit them with the end of his staff.

He easily dodged the servants as jumped over the doors with an excited hoot but it quickly turned into a horrified gasp. He did not see the royal couple standing behind the open door.

He snatched his staff up and willed the blue snowflakes to stop almost just as fast yet he still hit the queen. His staff moved through her as easily as a bird flew through the morning fog. The curve of his staff went through her torso, filling her insides with the blue snowflakes.

The queen did not see the staff nor could anyone see any obvious injury to her but she felt it. She inhaled sharply and clutched her pregnant belly with a whimper before falling into her husband’s side.

“Darling?” Her husband gasped. Her legs collapsed beneath her and all the blood left the king’s face as she caught her. “You’re ice cold!” He gasped. He looked to the servants, gathered in front of the open doors, and yelled, “Help me with the Queen! Something is wrong!” He turned back to his queen. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp. The king lightly shook her while gasping, “Wake up! Wake up!”

The queen flopped in his hold. Her flesh was paler than the king’s and was as white as the ice beneath her. Her lips were turning blue.

The children stopped playing and their laughter dwindled until it totally died. All that could be heard was the king’s voice as it rose with terror and echoed off the walls. “ _Someone help her_!”

Jack rung his staff between his fists and hovered over the royal couple. His stomach felt like it was being twisted and wrenched by an unknown force. When the king screamed out, Jack floated away from them, clutching his staff tightly to his chest. The children’s merriment was gone and they were totally focused on their king and queen. They gathered in clusters and all wore similar expressions of panic. Many of the younger ones were beginning to cry because of that unexplainable fear they felt toward their fallen queen.

Jack stopped moving backward when he reached the opposite wall of the courtyard. The queen was being lifted up by her husband and two of the castle guards. The king’s cry of horror had drawn a number of people to the front door of the castle. They all watched the queen with stark expressions. When she was brought through the doors, they all parted, giving the smaller group a large berth. Jack could hear their worried whispers from where he hovered.

With his attention adverted, the winter clouds slipped out of his mental hold and quickly fell back to the south. The spring sun’s ray shined brightly and burned away his ice and frost. When the rays hit him, he flinched as they burned his skin similarly to the snow. He hid in the shadow of the courtyard wall but kept his eyes on the surge of people in the open doorway. The queen was gone but he refused to look away.

His mind had gone blank with shock. The image of his staff going through the queen repeatedly played in his head on never-ending loop. How could he have been so reckless? How could he have let this happen?

He did not know he had company until E. Aster Bunnymund wrapped a paw around his ankle. Jack looked down to see who had grabbed him and met the Easter Bunny’s glare. The Easter Bunny was more of a kangaroo than a bunny (and it was not just because he had a certain accent which was associated with kangaroos). Bunnymund was much larger than an everyday bunny, in fact, he was larger than Jack. If Bunnymund had not been in his hole, he would have stood two feet over Jack. Bunnymund’s fur was grey and had darker grey stripes on his face and the rest of his body. He usually carried a knapsack over one shoulder but Jack currently could not see it.

“Yaw’ frosty little annoyance,” the enormous rabbit growled from his hole. Jack could barely gargle a response before Bunnymund pulled him down into the hole with him.

Jack was blanketed in darkness and his body bobbed with Bunnymund as he hopped.

“W-wait-!” Jack gasped. He had to see the queen! He had to make sure she was going to be alright! “Wai-!”

Pastel sparks and light enveloped them as Bunnymund activated his power and they were pulled into the void of his magic. One moment they were traveling through the warm, soft dirt of Arendelle then the next they were traveling through the courser, colder dirt of the Southern Kingdoms.

Bunnymund threw him from his hole and Jack went soaring through the air. He hit the ice with such force that it splintered the ice and sent the soft snow on top of it rising above him in a dense cloud before falling back down on top him.

“Yaw mess with my season again and I’ll kick yaw ass,” the rabbit warned. He then disappeared beneath the ground, leaving behind no trace on the ground that he was there.

Jack did not hear Bunnymund’s threat and his first reaction was to fly straight to Arendelle.

As soon as he crossed the season’s borders, the Easter Bunny jumped out of nowhere, intercepting Jack.

“Yaw insistent little-! Yaw asked for it!” Bunnymund yelled before drawing back his massive back paws. He kicked Jack in the chest and all the breath escaped his chest. His gasp was lost to the roar of the wind. The world and sky spun around him as he shot across the world.

Bunnymund could throw an egg into a niche from a mile away and he punched Jack with just as much precision because Jack did not land where the rabbit originally took him but in the opposite direction…To the North Pole to be more precise.

Jack hit thick shutters, broke through them, and into the middle of Nicholas St. North’s workshop (the Guardian otherwise known as Santa Claus). Elves, which stood as tall as his knees with red hats as long as they were tall, screeched as he tumbled through them. Their tall hats seemingly merged with the rest of their uniforms, making them look like walking triangles. The bells on the ends of their hats clanged loudly in the madness. For a moment he thought he was going crazy as triangles spun in front of his eyes.

The yetis ignored Jack and kept working on the toys. They stood nearly ten feet tall and were all tan and hairy. They were North’s actual workers. If North let the elves work on the toys the entire facility would burn down by the end of the night.

As he flew through the workshop, he scattered elves and toys in his wake. Some yetis grumbled but did not stop their work. When he finally came to a stop, he had left a trail of destruction in his wake. The little elves were indestructible, despite their size, and the ones he hit brushed themselves off before going straight back to whatever it was they were doing. Another team of elves came rushing into the room, cleaning up what was left of the toys that had been destroyed or ripped from the other yetis’ hands.

One elf separated himself from the group and walked straight up to Jack. His every step was echoed with a light tinkle from the bell hanging off the tip of his long hat. It counted his steps like the ticking of a clock. The elf nodded his head to the door it, the bell jingled as he did, and took a step toward it, motioning that Jack should follow him.

Jack sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his white hair. He mumbled, “Alright.” He pushed himself to his feet with his staff and a light groan. He looked down at the elf and said, “Lead the way.”

Nicholas St. North was working in his private workshop, hunched over one of his wondrous creations in the making. Jack strolled into the room like he belonged there but on the inside he was nervous. North was a Guardian like Bunnymund but he was also the Guardian of a _winter_ holiday, in other words, Jack’s superior.

“Jack,” North murmured, not looking up from his work. “You are a naughty boy.”

“I like to think of myself as more of an adventurous individual, personally,” Jack replied with a smirk. He automatically responded with sarcasm, he could not help it. It was his nature.

In response, North paused in his work to groan loudly with frustration. Jack continued talking before the older man would give him the lecture he had heard countless times before (Jack may or may not have bothered Bunnymund a few [actually several] times over the years). He said, “North, I need to go back to Arendelle. I think I might have, accidently, hurt someone…”

North sat up straighter and faced him. He lifted the goggles off his pale blue eyes. He had a long white beard but dark bushy eyebrows. He was taller and larger than Bunnymund and sitting down equated to Jack’s height. He wore black trousers tied down by a red striped slash and a long-sleeved shirt which was rolled up to reveal tattoos on both his arms. One arm read “Nice” while the other read “Naughty.” North leaned in and asked, “How?”

In response, Jack tapped his staff and a handful of blue snowflake shot out of it. He caught one and it remained blue in his hands while the rest died and turned white as they gently floated to the floor.

“Oh, no, Jack,” North gasped. He got to his feet and plucked the snowflake from Jack’s hand. Jack flinched in surprise. He half expected the snowflake to have a similar effect on North as it had with the queen.

North studied the snowflake closely and murmured, “The magic of winter is stored in the snowflakes you create…if you let even one touch a human when the magic is still pure and strong…” His eyes focused on Jack and demanded, “Tell me exactly what happened.”

North sat on his bench as Jack quickly explained how he missed the Northern Kingdoms so he had decided to take a vacation (he neglected to mention his wanting to mess with a certain bunny but he did not think it would be wise to bring it up). He told North about playing with the children and not noticing the royal couple until it was too late. North had him explain every minute detail, right down to what color robes the queen had been wearing. When he was done North sat back down on his workbench with a deep scowl.

“I have to go back,” Jack insisted.

North shook his head and said, “It will be no use.”

“I have to make sure she is fine!” Jack gasped.

“It is too late, Jack,” North stated. “For a human to merely touch one of those snowflakes is life threatening. It is too cold and the magic too strong. The queen absorbed numerous snowflakes into her body. There is no way she survived…She is gone, Jack.”

Jack’s grip grew lax on his staff but it did not slip from his fingers. He repeated the word, “Gone?”

“Yes,” North said. “You should not go back there. It will not only upset Bunny but…it will upset you. This is your first winter death?”

Jack nodded wordlessly. His eyes were focused on North’s boots. He did not seem able to pick up his head.

North sighed and said, “I was a winter spirit like you before I became a Guardian and long before I became a Holiday Spirit… I have seen death caused by the cold and, a few times, I was the cause of it. It is a horrible experience…Humans are extremely fragile, almost like thin ice. If you apply too much pressure, they break.”

Jack bit down on his lip unable to make a retort.

North stared at him for a moment then he subsequently got to his feet. He wordlessly headed toward the door. He paused next to Jack and said, “Let’s make this winter in the south a short one…” He looked at Jack, his eyes full of pity as he said, “You should take a break for a while…”

With these words, he left Jack alone. In the silence, his fingers finally uncurled, releasing the staff from his hold.

It clattered loudly on the ground.

 


	2. Winter's Curse

The seasons changed and winter returned to Arendelle. Though winter started later than is usually did, the citizens of Arendelle paid it no mind. They had no idea that the season was late to start because the spirit of winter was avoiding them since he felt guilty about what he did to their queen.  
Jack laid the last of Arendelle’s winter frost in the capital city itself. He came in the predawn of the early morning. The stars were just beginning to fade but the moon remained bright and round. To the west, the darkness of the night was beginning to change. Jack could just make out the dark blue shade of the approaching morning on the horizon.  
Jack worked in silence. Guilt weighed heavily on him and his usual chipper self did not seem right. He killed a woman and he felt like he should act respectful even if the humans could not see him. The frost blanketed everything he touched and grew on the walls and ground like vines, branching out in all directions.  
The city was asleep. Overhead flew the Guardian Sanderson Mansnoozie. He was known as Sandy to the spirits and other Guardians, but was known to the humans as the Sandman. He was a little man, shorter than Jack, with wild golden hair, a golden jumpsuit, and golden tinted skin. He conducted dreams from a grand, golden ship made entirely from his golden dream sand.  
Golden tendrils of sand stretched from Sandy’s dancing hands. At the ends of these tendrils were people’s dreams. If Jack followed the tendril to the end he would be able to watch the dream as it played out over the sleeper’s head.  
Sandy waved cheerfully to Jack and Jack replied with a wave of his own before returning his attention to his work.  
He frosted the castle last. He did not know what to expect to see when he went there. Maybe the black banners of mourning? Would they still be hanging from the walls months later? Or perhaps a memorial for the queen in the courtyard? Or a dejected, haggard king, walking in the early morning hours searching for his lost love?  
Jack shook his head as it filled with the morose notions. He was trying to shake them out but only managed to tumble them around. They were still there but were no longer at the forefront of his mind.  
When he finished frosting the castle, his work was done. Winter had officially begun in Arendelle. He could leave but Jack stayed. He had to know what happened in Arendelle since he left. What mark did he leave because of his folly?  
Jack inhaled deeply to help in collecting his courage then flew to the palace’s courtyard and sat upon one of the walls.  
Sandy’s tendrils pulled back as sleepers woke and the winter sun eventually rose. Its rays cut through the darkness and the sky bled purple, red, pink, orange, yellow, and then finally settled on blue. The sun was further away in winter and its light weaker so it did not harm Jack. The sun hit his back, warming him slightly, but it did not overheat or hurt him.  
The servants in the castle were some of the first to wake in the city. They were quick to open the shutters and light the hearths throughout the castle. The smell of fresh bread wafted into the air mingled with sweet sausages.  
As the morning progressed, more noises were added to the new day. A rooster crowed in the distance; the chatter of the servant’s and guard’s voices rose as more of them woke and intermingled; and behind him, on the docks, the merchants, fisher, and ferrymen began to dock out and were barking out orders to their crews.  
Jack knew it would be extremely unlikely what happened to the queen would be the main topic because it was months prior. He would have to go straight to the source to know what had happened. Once he deemed it was late enough in the morning, Jack went in search of the king.  
He circled the castle, looking in the windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of the king.  
Instead, he found the queen, very much alive, and holding a cooing baby.  
Jack slipped inside. The window was not open but he phased through the glass without a second thought. His eyes never left the queen.  
The queen was rocking in a rocking chair by the window. She was peering down at the baby in her arms with a content smile. They were having a very indiscriminate conversation. The baby was babbling and the queen made encouraging noises in return.  
It was only then did Jack realize the baby in the queen’s arms was her child. She had not only survived but gave birth to a seemingly healthy baby as well. The baby was dressed in a purple dress and her blanket was pink so Jack assumed it was a girl. She a light fuzz of blonde hair on top of her head and had a lighter shade of blue eyes than her mothers.’  
With a quick glance around the room, Jack deduced it was the baby’s nursery. The walls were pink with even layers of white paneling. In one corner of the room was a large, white, and square fireplace. A fire burned in its hearth and the freshly cut logs emitted a rich pine smell with the smoke.  
The room had a large rectangular rug in the center of the room. It had pink and purple tones with two large tulips in the center surrounded by another bordering of smaller tulip, all of which were abstractly made with the particular cultural design the kingdom was famous for. The crib sat against the opposite wall to the fireplace and was bulky. The wooden railings and the supporting four columns of the canopy were all carved with similar designs. The canopy and sheeting were all the same pink as the blanket wrapped around the baby.  
Jack bent at the waist over the queen and her daughter. They both looked fine. He could not believe it. The queen was alive. Elation washed over Jack and he laughed.  
The baby’s blue gaze fell from her mother and focused on him. Jack froze and the laughter died in his throat. Was she looking at him?  
Jack stepped to the side and the infant’s gaze followed him. Bewilderment and excitement twisted in his chest. Was she looking at him?  
Ever since he woke, centuries earlier, not one single human had been able to see him. No matter how much he loved them or helped them play in the winter, they never noticed him. He never thought it would be possible to find a human that could see him…until now.  
Jack hopped to the baby’s other side and she following him with an excited coo.  
“What are you doing, Elsa?” The queen asked her daughter with a chuckle. Upon her mother’s voice, Elsa’s gaze was drawn back to her. She reached out to the queen and happily jabbered.  
Jack slipped back outside. His heart was pounding against his chest. He could not tell if his heart raced from enthusiasm or fear. He turned back to the window and peered at the baby within. This was unprecedented. Humans should not be able to see him but… if this baby could… Jack closed his eyes and imagined playing with the child, interacting with the child, speaking with the child…He would not have to be alone anymore.  
Jack reopened his eyes and immediately focused on the baby again.  
The baby’s sight was not random. The magic of the snowflakes had to have been the cause and if that were the case then he had to tell North. He dreaded wondering how the magic affected her. In the end, what if it killed her?

“I can feel the winter’s magic from here,” North whispered. He stood by the window, peering at the crib with an indiscriminate emotion.  
An entire day had passed since he last saw the baby. Jack floated to the crib without any hesitation and peered within. Elsa slept peacefully.  
“I don’t feel anything,” Jack murmured quietly, conscious of Elsa.  
North walked up to the crib slowly then stood next to Jack as he peered within. He murmured, “It is there but is young. As she grows her power will grow with her. When she matures, she will be just as strong as you, Jack.”  
Jack grinned excitedly at North but his grin fell when he saw the look upon North’s face.  
“What’s wrong?” He asked.  
“This isn’t a gift, Jack,” North said. Jack had been excited at the possibility of not only interacting with a human but one with similar ice powers. North must have easily realized why he was excited. North continued, “This is a curse. She will not be able to control her powers like you and I. She will unwillingly hurt others and they will fear her.”  
“It doesn’t have to be a curse,” Jack retorted.  
“You will have to make it so then,” North replied.  
“Wha-?”  
“You caused this,” North stated. “You have to take responsibility for it. As she grows, help her with her powers and maybe the curse will not destroy her.”  
Jack gripped the staff tightly then nodded.


	3. Fleeting Winters

Jack spent the rest of winter with Elsa but saw no signs of the magic North said was there. She seemed to be a regular baby with the exception that she could see him.

Nevertheless, he was always sure to do his duties as the spirit of winter. He made sure to keep windows frosted, the winds cold, and the snow soft. He also made sure the children across the Northern Kingdoms were having fun and started many snowball fights and sled races without their knowing. Yet he always went back to Elsa.

He was absolutely obsessed with the baby by the end of winter. Whenever her light blue eyes focused on him he felt like he would cry with joy. A human could see him. It was a precious miracle.

He tried to extend winter but Bunnymund put his massive foot down and refused to give up a single day of spring. Jack left Elsa with a heavy heart.

 

Winter in the Southern Kingdoms seemed to pass by slowly. He played with children but did not find as much excitement with them as he used to. Every day he found himself reflecting upon the baby girl with the crystal blue eyes.

North sent elves to check in on him, to make sure he was no invading the other seasons’ territories and to remind Jack that he was watching him. If they did not check in on him, Jack would have probably gone back to Arendelle before winter.

When winter officially started in the Northern Kingdoms, Jack flew in with a storm. He covered the north in a flurry of snow overnight as he went straight to Arendelle.

He came in the middle of the night, as everyone slept, and he went straight to the room he knew to be Elsa’s. The room had not changed much since he last saw it other than the fact that there were more toys lying around.

Elsa slept peacefully in her crib. He peeked in on her and saw she had grown thrice her size. She was a chubby little toddler with thick white-blond hair. Jack reached out and touched her to make sure he still could. Her flesh was warm beneath his fingers and he smiled. If he could still touch her then she could probably still see him.

Jack hovered over her crib and watched her sleep as he waited for morning.

Elsa woke with the early morning light. She whined and scrunched her eyes closed tightly as if she wanted to pretend it was not light out.

“Good morning,” Jack whispered. Elsa’s eyes popped open. They were the mesmerizing blue he remembered them to be.

Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at his unfamiliar face and then became clouded by fear. Her face pinched then she opened her mouth to cry.

“No! No! Don’t do that!” Jack shot into the air and Elsa did not make a peep. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened with surprise. That surprise quickly evolved into wonder and she giggled excitedly.

“Shou fi!” Elsa gasped.

“What?” Jack asked with a chuckle. He floated closer to her and Elsa pushed herself up into a sitting position.

She repeated, “ShOU Fi!”

He tried to guess what she was saying, “Shou-shou…You? Are you saying You? You fi…you fly?” He grinned, “Yes, I do fly!”

She giggled and clapped her hands.

“My name is Jack,” he offered, smiling ear-to-ear.

“Yack!” Elsa exclaimed.

Jack snorted and said, “Close enough.” He reached down and Elsa eagerly reached out and grasped his hand with her tiny ones. She tugged at his hands, not knowing the contact was monumental to Jack. He cupped her hands in his and repeated, “This is definitely more than close enough.”

By the end of the day, everyone in the castle learned that their princess had discovered an imaginary friend, Yack. She insisted he go everywhere with him and he obliged. Her parents and the servants humored her and pretended to talk to Jack.

Jack settled into the role of imaginary friend with ease. He had met a few real imaginary friends in his life so he knew the basic rule: never let the adults you were there. Simply, he could not play with Elsa and her toys when the adults were in the room.

Whenever her mother was with her Jack and his staff stayed far away from her which confused Elsa. She wanted to make her mother and Jack friends but Jack stayed away despite all of Elsa’s whining.

Elsa’s mother was pregnant again and he dared not come near her with his staff. Eventually, Elsa gave up and told her mother that ‘Yack’ was being a baby.

Jack had never neglected his duties as the spirit of winter until that winter with Elsa. Weeks into winter, ice thinned, no fresh snow fell, and the children were forced to play with slush, if they played at all. North, himself, eventually came to right what was happening in his season.

When Jack saw him he knew he was in trouble. North’s holiday was only days away. He should have been working tirelessly on all the last minute presents and looking over his list of naughty and nice children for the 54th time.

“Jack,” North growled. “How are the children of the north going to have a White Christmas when there is no white snow?”

Jack gulped and looked guiltily down at Elsa’s sleeping form. She had wrapped her little hand around one of his fingers and held it close to her face.

“You told me to watch over her,” Jack whispered in excuse.

“But I did not tell you to neglect your duties!” North hissed. He stepped next to Jack and his hardened expression softened as his eyes fell on Elsa. He asked, “Has she displayed any powers yet?”

Jack shook his head and whispered, “No, but she can see me, hear me…” He nodded to his hand in her grasp and added, “And touch me…I don’t understand it but I hope it does not go away.”

North sighed heavily and grasped Jack’s shoulder. Jack met his gaze defiantly.

“If you want to keep seeing her and remain the spirit of winter you must do your duties,” North stated. “You have to go back to your duties tonight. Consider Elsa a small part of your duties and nothing more.”

“She’s more than a duty…” Jack whispered, his eyes falling on the sleeping child again and North sighed heavily again.

North paused then murmured, “…The first child who saw me was a boy named, Samuil. Though it was not allowed, he helped me in my endeavors to create a holiday of gift giving and helped spread word about my works. It is because of him the children of the world began to believe in me…I loved him most out of them all and would spend days with him, neglecting my duties…He was my first friend _but_ he was human. When he died I refused to continue my work for many years and nearly disappeared because of it.”

Jack looked at North with surprise. North did what?

“You are going to love Elsa,” North whispered. “It happens to all of us when we encounter the first child who sees us. It cannot be helped but you must accept that she is human and you are a spirit. She must live and grow and you must continue your duties and remain ageless. You must accept this because one day she will die or grow up and stop believing in you. When that happens, you will be devastated but you cannot stop doing what is expected of you. Winter cannot begin without you, Jack.”

“…I already love her,” Jack whispered, staring at the beautiful little girl.

“…Then begin separating yourself from her now,” North whispered. “Start preparing for it now or everyone will suffer later.”

Jack bit down on his lip and tightly closed his eyes. North’s words filled him with dread but he knew he had to head them. He pulled his finger out of Elsa’s grip and turned to North.

“Which section of the Northern Kingdoms needs me the most?” He asked. North smiled sadly at him and wrapped his massive arm over Jack’s shoulder. He walked them over to the window.

“You are doing the right thing,” North stated.

Jack peered down at the carpet and remained silent until they reached the window. He asked, “How did you get over Samuil’s death?”

North sighed and said, “I never did.”

It took him over a week to right the wrongs he had made when he neglected the season. When he returned to Elsa he had come up with a routine. He would spend only a few hours out of the day with her but the rest were dedicated to the Northern Kingdoms.

Elsa was happy to have him back but she was not happy he would not spend all his time with her like he originally had. She would throw tantrums whenever he had to leave. It confused the rest of the humans immensely. They did not know what to do with the little princess when she was in this state. How were they supposed to ask her imaginary friend to stay?

When winter’s end finally came he tried to break it to her gently that she would not see him for another year. Nonetheless, Elsa began to cry and kick her feet when he told her he had to go away for a long time.

“I promise I will come back,” Jack said.

“Nooooo!” Elsa cried. Her mother was kneeling next to her and was rubbing her back, making soothing noises.

“What’s wrong, Elsa?” Her mother asked, repeatedly.

“The sun is too hot for me in the spring and summer,” Jack tried to explain. He wrung his staff between his hands in discomfort. He wished he did not have to do this.

“I promise to come straight to you when winter starts,” Jack continued.

“No, no, NOOO!”

Her final exclamation was said with a blast of ice that splintered from where she was sitting. The queen cried out in horror and jumped away from her daughter.

Elsa’s little fists were balled up into her eyes and her tears were falling down her red face. Jack was going to reach out to touch her when the ice appeared. His hand froze just in front of her and he slowly pulled it back. Jack’s shock was quickly followed by fear. Elsa continued crying, not noticing the sheet of ice beneath her nor the fact that her tears froze on her cheeks.

 

That next winter, when Jack first came across her, Elsa was sleeping in a bed. She had ornate bars to protect her from falling off the sides but she was in a bed. Her limbs and hair were also longer. She was no longer a baby.

This time winter started in the early morning hours. The first rays of the winter sun were filtering through Elsa and her little sister’s bedroom. Jack sat on the end of Elsa’s tiny bed and peered at her sleeping form. Would she remember him? Would she still be able to see him?

Jack carefully reached out and touched one of her feet. It was solid and warm beneath his touch. She stirred beneath him and murmured incoherently.

“Elsa?” He whispered, half afraid to wake her.

Elsa murmured incoherently again then her eyes fluttered open. Her eyes were a shade lighter than when he last saw them. Ice blue, he realized, and they focused on him.

She slowly sat up in bed and they shared a span of silence simply staring at each other.

“Jack?” She whispered, she was in the stage between a toddler and a child and no longer had the babyish lisp that she had the year prior.

“Hello, Elsa,” he replied with a smile. Elsa grinned widely and shot across the bed, wrapping her arms around Jack’s neck.

“I missed you, Jack,” she whispered into his neck. Jack clenched his fist tightly around his staff for half a second then wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into a tight hug.

“I missed you too,” he whispered back.

Elsa was walking everywhere and talking coherently. Her little sister, Anna, was just a baby but cooed and babbled away just as Elsa had when she was her age. Elsa never stopped talking or asking questions. She was finally able to ask Jack what he was and Jack told her the truth.

“I’m Jack Frost, the spirit of winter.”

“…Does that mean I’m a spirit of winter too?” She asked and Jack’s spine tingled unpleasantly.

“What do you mean, Elsa?”

“I make snow too,” she said. She looked around them then opened her palm and a burst of snow and cold came out of her hand. She explained, “Mama and Papa said I can’t let anyone see but you’re my best friend, I don’t keep any secrets from you.” She peered inquisitively at him, her clear blue eyes wide with innocence.

“You’re human, Elsa,” Jack murmured. He ran his hand through her hair and reiterated, “A _special_ human and my best friend too.”

Over the winter, he and Elsa continuously stole away outside to play in the snow alone. It infuriated her parents and worried the servants to no end. Yet Elsa insisted and Jack relented because he was helping her learn her snow powers. Her power was similar to Jack’s except Jack funneled the power through his staff and had total control of it. Elsa funneled it through her body and it was unstable. She could will it to do what she wanted but when she became emotional she lost control. Despite this they had fun and spent most of winter building snowmen and practicing frosting.

When he told her he would have to leave her again, Elsa bit down on her trembling lip and asked, “It’s only because you’re a winter spirit, right? You don’t get sick of me?”

Jack’s heart dropped, he swooped down, and captured her in a tight embrace. He gasped, “I could never get sick of you! _Never_!”

 

The next winter, Elsa had grown once again but not just in body but in mind as well.

“Why do I have snow powers?” She asked him.

Jack jerked and his hands froze upon the head of the snowman they were making. It was the first time she ever asked him. He looked over the head of the snowman and gazed down at her. A normal child would have skin flush from the cold but her flesh was unaffected and a pale white.

“I don’t know,” Jack lied and guilt weighed heavily down on him after he said it.

Elsa frowned and her gaze fell down onto the snowman. She began patting down the snow again and lightly replied with, “Oh...Alright….”

 

The following winter, Jack found Elsa with her little sister.

“She’s going to play with us from now on! She knows about my snow powers and you! She’s wanted to meet you since summer!”

Jack’s gaze fell sadly on the toddler but he felt his jaw drop when Anna’s blue eyes focused on him.

“Yackie!” Anna laughed and reached out to him.

“She believes in you, Jack!” Elsa explained. Jack looked at the older girl with a constricting chest. She had no idea what she had managed and how amazing this was. Jack shot forward and picked her up in a hug. They spun in a circle and she wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed excitedly.

“Me doo! Me doo!” Anna cried from the ground.

Jack swooped down and picked up Anna too. The toddler screeched with exhilaration as Jack spun them and Elsa continued to laugh. Jack began to laugh too and lay his forehead against Elsa’s as he did. Their eyes met and they shared a moment of mutual understanding.

Elsa hugged his neck tightly, burying her face in his hair, and whispered, “I love you, Jack.”

North’s warning flashed through his mind but he pushed it away. Jack leaned his head into hers and replied, “I love you too.”

 

The next winter, Anna was not walking, she was running and she laughed more than she talked. Anna was more animated than Elsa but Elsa was more caring. She doted over her little sister like she was the most precious thing on the planet.

Together, they played all the same games that Jack and Elsa used to play. The girls loved it but Jack played with a fake smile. Elsa’s skin was no longer warm and her skin was the same temperature as his. When they played in the snow, he would see frost grow on her skin. She rarely wore many layers in the snow as it was…

Humans could not handle the cold. It killed them. How much longer could Elsa’s body handle the unnatural icy strain?

 

Another two winters came and went. Jack and the girls had many adventures and developed everlasting friendships.

Elsa’s power grew but her control did not.


	4. Winter’s Ache

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains spoilers for Disney's Frozen as well as a stolen kiss and many tears.

Jack descended upon Arendelle with the first winter’s breeze. It was a little late in the afternoon but he knew the girls would be expecting him. He followed the breeze into castle. It flew through the open doors and pushed him down the main corridor until he landed lightly on his feet.

He walked down the hallway like a regular human. He grinned at the servants and guards as they walked past him. He pretended they could see him and nodded to them as if in greeting. There were surprisingly very few of them. Either most of the servants were sleeping in or the staff had been drastically reduced.

There was a sudden commotion down the corridor and Anna appeared in her underclothes with half a dozen servants chasing after her with her proper clothes in hand. She ran gleefully, dodging the adults as she sprinted toward Jack. There was a white streak in her hair and Jack wondered if Anna had painted herself or if Elsa had helped her.

Jack knelt to a single knee and grinned at the little girl. He said, “Hello, An-.”

Anna ran through him.                                                                 

Seconds later, a number of servants ran through him but he did not notice them.

Jack was stunned but he numbly got to his feet. He looked after her but Anna was already gone. His stomach tightened sickly and the hallway seemed to tilt.

Anna no longer believed in him.

His mind turned to Elsa and he felt like he was going to throw up.

“Elsa,” he gasped her name like it was his last breath.

He held up his staff and it pulled him forward in a quick jerk. He flew so fast down the corridor that the people beneath him passed in a blur.

He flew straight to Elsa and Anna’s room. He flew through the open door and jolted to a stop midair. Anna’s half of the room was there but everything Elsa owned was gone.

Elsa was _gone_.

Jack gradually floated down and touched the ground. When his feet touched the floor, ice plastered the carpet all around him. He dropped his staff and frost splintered on the ground wherever the staff impacted the ground as it bounced away. Ice formed beneath the staff where it settled.

She was dead. The curse had finally consumed her.

He knew it would happen but he had expected she either die of old age or her death would be slow, like the creeping of ice. This was too soon. Tears slid out of his eyes and froze on his cheeks.

She was only eight-years-old and he killed her.

He stumbled to where her bed once stood and lay there like she might have. He wrapped his arms around himself and whimpered, “I’m sorry.”

He lay there for hours. Anna never returned and Elsa’s ghost never appeared. Eventually he pushed himself up, collected his staff, and dragged his feet out of the room. He walked down the corridor again but this time did not greet the servants. He had no energy but, on top of that, he did not want to. It did not feel right to be happy and cheerful with Elsa gone. The world had suddenly grown into a darker, bleaker place.

He eventually wandered into the courtyard. He found himself standing in the same spot the queen had been when he hit her with his staff. The moment replayed clearly in his mind but he did not relive the fear of that day…He only felt regret. The phrase “If only…” kept repeating in his head. If only he had noticed the queen, if only he had lifted the staff, if only he had been paying attention…If only he had been a responsible spirit of winter and stayed in his season.

Overhead, one of the castle windows shook from the wind. Jack ignored it, his eyes trailing grout in the stones. He deemed it natural until a voice was added to the shaking.

“Jack!”

Jack spun around, recognizing the voice. When he saw Elsa in the window his heart soared and his face split into a wide grin. He lifted his staff and it pulled him up and through her window.

Before she could say anything, Jack lifted her into a tight hug and the spun slowly in the air. He gasped, “You’re alive. I can touch you…” He pulled back and said, “Please tell me you can see me.”

Elsa’s face was pinched with sadness and tears and snot were already flowing down her red face. Taken aback, Jack tenderly touched one of her cheeks and asked, “Elsa?”

Elsa shot forward, buried her face in his chest, and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso. She cried, “Of course I can see you, you big dummy!” She cried harder and gasped, “I called you so many times over summer but you never came!”

“What’s wrong?” He gasped, “What happened?”

For the first time, he got a good look at their surroundings and he realized this was Elsa’s new room. All her things were here and it looked just like her old room with the exception that her little sister was not there.

In a broken voice and with her face buried in his chest, Elsa told him of the events that occurred over spring. She told him how she and her little sister were playing in the great hall in the middle of the night. Elsa was using her ice powers and she accidently hit Anna. Anna had been badly hurt and her parents took her to the trolls to heal her. Anna was forever scarred with a white patch in her hair and no longer remembered Jack nor Elsa’s power but she was healed. And Elsa’s parents were going through extreme measures to help her control her powers.

“Conceal, don’t feel,” Elsa explained.

Jack clutched her closer to him. She sat on one of his arms and was peering sadly at his chest. It scared him that she sounded so hopeful about such a grim idea.

“Elsa,” he said. “That’s not healthy. You should not make yourself not _feel_.”

“I have to!” She gasped, “If I don’t I will lose control!”

Jack bit down on his lip and carefully set her down. He knelt in front of her and grasped both of her hands with his.

“Elsa, there has to be another way…”

“There is,” she whispered. Her eyes focused on him and were unflinching and hopeful. His brows scrunched together in confusion and she continued, “You’re the spirit of winter, Jack. I have seen you use the winter magic all the time and it looks just like mine.” She opened her hand and a handful of minuscule blue snowflakes puffed into a small ball in her palm. Seeing the winter magic come so easily to her made Jack’s stomach clench uncomfortably. She said, “Since you’re the spirit of winter, you can take it away, can’t you?”

Jack squeezed her hands tightly. He carefully whispered, “You were born with this, Elsa. It is a part of you. I cannot take this from you without destroying the rest.”

Her eyes widened a fraction and filled with fear. She gasped, “No, you-you have to do something! You have to help me! You have to get rid of this!”

Ice began to build up beneath them, growing from where Elsa stood, and the air around them picked up, swirling around them with snowflakes. Jack gripped Elsa’s hands tighter and he gasped, “I can’t do anymore, Elsa. I’ve already done too much!”

As soon as he said the words he wished he had not said them. He looked down and leaned back. Elsa heard them and her eyes narrowed. She asked, “What do you mean? Did you try to take away my powers before?”

“No,” Jack replied. He knew it was coming but he did not want to tell her. She was going to put it all together and would want to know the truth. He never wanted to reveal this truth to her.

“What did you do?” She asked and his gut plummeted.

Jack peered at her bleakly and ran his hand through her hair. He stared into her blue eyes, so trusting, so innocent. She needed to know the truth but as soon as she knew she would hate him. He whispered, “Elsa, your power…” He paused and broke his eyes away from her wholesome gaze. He continued and said, “It is my fault you have this power. Before you were born I had accidently hit your mother with winter magic. You must have absorbed it all in her womb.”

Elsa flinched as if he had physically slapped her and she hissed, “Y-you did this to me?!” Her voice was filled with hurt as she gasped, “Say it isn’t true, Jack! Please, this can’t be true!”

He slowly lifted his head and met her gaze. Tears were building in her eyes but she was looking at him with an imploring gaze. She wanted him to lie to her and paint a perfect picture.

“It’s true,” he rasped, his voice thick with emotion.

Her tears escaped and rolled down her cheeks. She bit down on her lips as her face scrunched up when she pulled out of his hold. He reached out, desperate to keep their connection.

“Elsa-!”

“Don’t touch me!” She gasped. Ice was building up on the walls around her and snow was floating throughout the room, twinkling in the air. The room was getting colder and the ice thicker. She backed away until she hit the opposite wall. As soon as she touched it ice exploded up the wall and to the ceiling.

“Elsa?!” He gasped.

“Conceal, don’t feel,” she gasped. “Conceal, don’t feel. Conceal, don’t feel.” He reached out to her and she slapped his hand away. She gasped, “ _Don’t touch me_! Conceal, don’t feel. Conceal, don’t feel.”

“Elsa!”

“Go!” She gasped then continued her frenzied mantra, “Conceal, don’t feel. Conceal, don’t feel.”

“Elsa?”

“I said go!” She yelled, “Leave me! It’s your fault I’m like this! Go! I hate you! _I hate you!..._ Conceal, don’t feel. Conceal, don’t feel. Conceal, don’t feel.”

She covered her face with her hands and began rocking back and forth. The air was thick with ice and growing thicker. She continued chanting but it was having no effect on her powers.

Jack left and flew straight to North’s private workshop. He curled up in a corner, clutching his staff closely to him. One look at him and North knew not to ask. He left Jack alone and he stayed there for days before feeling brave enough to venture back outside.

 

After that whenever Jack went to Arendelle, it was only to his duties as the spirit of winter. He avoided Elsa.

Years passed. The pain he felt never went away but he was able to better manage it over the years. Elsa was always on his mind, especially whenever it was winter in the Northern Kingdoms. He could not go to her, not even to see her, or he knew he she would look at him with those hurt eyes again and he would become incapacitated and hiding in North’s workshop again.

He never grew used to the idea that he would never see her again.

 

Jack felt an icy spike hit his heart and immediately knew something was wrong. It was autumn in Arendelle but there was a sudden fluctuation of winter winds and ice in the core of the kingdom’s capital city.

His thoughts immediately turned to Elsa. He knew it was her.

He grimly peered down at his hands, strangling his staff. He weighed his options but quickly made up his mind. If Elsa needed help he would be there for her.

Since winter was so close, the cold winds were already making their way north. He caught a ride with them and made it to Arendelle in record time. When he got to the city everything looked fine until he saw the people: everyone was wearing black.

Someone died; someone important enough that the entire city was mourning.

Jack flew straight to Elsa’s room. It was totally plastered in ice and the frost was so thick in the air that he could barely see anything. Elsa was sitting against the door, her face buried in her arms. She had grown in the years since he last saw her. She was no longer a child she was a young woman now.

“Elsa?” He asked cautiously.

She lifted her head with a quick jerk and he saw that her face was a facet of pain. It broke further when her eyes latched on him, displaying more of her inner turmoil.

“Jack,” she pled, reaching out for him.

Jack dropped his staff and swooped down to her. He embraced her and her hands grabbed at him. She drew him closer and buried her face into his chest. She bawled, unleashing all her hurt and Jack took it because it was all he could do for her.

In time, she ultimately became so exhausted that she fell asleep. Jack picked her up and put her in her frosty bed. He picked up his staff and cleared away all the ice until her room returned to normal. Frost continued to build up around Elsa, despite his best efforts. However, what bothered him most was a crease in her forehead that he desperately wanted to flatten but could not because it was caused by her emotional ache.

Jack merely had to step into the main hall of the castle to see what Elsa was so upset about. A black drape had been placed over the portrait of her parents. They were both dead.

As soon as he saw it he returned to Elsa immediately. She remained asleep but he joined her in the bed and wrapped his arms around her. He left his staff leaning against the wall beside him. All he could do was be there for her, though by morning he knew she would not want him there. Until then he would be there for her.

Since he was a spirit he did not need to sleep. He spent the entire night staring at Elsa. She had grown beautiful but she was a sad beauty. Despair had etched itself into her features. From the curve to her lips to the size of her sealed eyes, she had been molded magnificently by it. He hoped that this despairing, attractive appearance was only recent. It would break his heart if this striking despair had been with her for years.

When Elsa started to wake, Jack placed his hand on the side of her face so when she woke she would see him and only him. Her eyes opened and focused on him immediately. In the span of a few seconds a multitude of emotions ran through her features: first it was happiness, then confusion, then fear, and then it settled on anguish.

“It wasn’t a dream?” She asked with a tight voice.

“No,” he whispered. His hand twitched against her face but tightened as he stated, “They’re gone.”

She scrunched her eyes closed but tears squeezed through her compressed lids and fell down her face.

Jack placed his forehead against hers, collected her hands in his, and held her hands close to his heart. She cried quietly for a few minutes. The sobs were not as loud or jarring as her prior lamentation had been but it hurt Jack all the same to witness.

She leaned into his hold on her hands and pressed heavily against his forehead with hers. In time, she collected her hitching breath and asked, “W-why are you here?”

“I wanted to be there for you,” he replied in a whisper. He lightly stroked her fingers with his to physically display his need to comfort her.

Her eyes fluttered open, her lashes were thick with moisture, and her blue eyes focused on him. One of her hands broke away from their appendages’ collective grasp and lightly touched his cheek with soft fingertips.

“I was beginning to think that you were not real,” she whispered. “I almost convinced myself that you really were something I had conjured up to explain how I got my powers…But here you are… Jack Frost, in the flesh.”

“I can never say I am sorry enough,” he whispered. He had wanted to get the words out since he last saw her. He felt so guilty. Her life would have been so different if she did not have her winter powers. She could have been happy. For all he knew, she might still have her parents.

Elsa closed her eyes and her face pinched. He thought she was going to cry again. He tightened his hold on her for a fraction of a second. He wanted to comfort her but did not know how. She took a shuddering breath and opened her eyes again. She smiled sadly, pulled her other hand out of his, and cupped his face with both her hands.

Elsa silently leaned forward and pressed her cold lips to his.

She had closed her eyes but Jack’s eyes remained open and were trying to bore into her hidden gaze. What was happening? What was she doing? Why was she doing it?

She pulled back slowly and opened her eyes even more leisurely.

“Elsa?” He gasped and the confusion evident in his voice.

She pulled her hands away from his face, her fingers caressing him as she did. He shivered from the intimate touch. A blush crept into Elsa’s cheeks and her eyes focused on his chest.

She stared at his chest with a calculating stare. Her expression faltered and she whispered, “You should go.”

“What?” He gasped, unable to understand her words. All his mind could phantom was the feeling of Elsa’s lips on his own and the unexplainable emotions that it formed.

“Go, Jack,” she said. She slipped out of the bed, refusing to meet his eyes. Under her breath she whispered to herself, “Conceal, don’t feel. _Don’t feel._ ”

“Elsa-!?” He gasped as he sat up and clamored out of the bed. He rounded the mattress and went straight to Elsa’s side. He reached out to her and tried to catch her gaze but she flinched away from him. Jack’s heart plummeted into his gut and he drew back his hand.

With a voice that barely bordered on being steady, Elsa stated, “Jack, thank you for comforting me. Thank you for coming here when I was alone and-and sad…Thank you but you cannot be here.”

“Elsa, you can’t be alone right now,” Jack whispered. He so badly wanted to bring up the kiss but he knew if he did she would shrink more away from him. Instead he focused on the pressing crisis in front of him. “Your parents are dead. They were the only people except you and me who knew your secret and they are dead. If you push me away then you will be alone, completely, utterly alone. _No_ _one_ should ever be alone, Elsa.”

She faced him, her eyes brimming with tears, and softly stated, “I must be alone, Jack. If I become close to anyone I hurt them, just like I did with Anna…”

“Elsa…You can’t hurt me,” he whispered and lightly touched her arm. Elsa squeezed her eyes shut and gently pulled herself out of his hold. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned away from him.

“Jack, in order to control these powers I cannot feel and ever since I was a little girl you have made me…you made me _feel_ things…thi-things I did not understand until-until recently…I…I hated you at first…blamed you but…but I also have had a crush on you for as long as I can remember...” She inhaled loudly and slowly released her exhalation before continuing, “You cannot stay because I can already tell I won’t be able to control myself around you.”

Jack ran his thumb over his fingers, wishing his staff was in his hands. He knew her ‘things’ could be only one of two things. She was either referring to the fact that she remembered he was the cause of her powers and thereby pain. The feelings she felt toward him could be a combination of anger and grief. Or…Or she was referring to the crush, the emotions that must have been behind the sudden kiss she gave him. He could not begin to contemplate what _those_ emotions would mean.

“Elsa-,” he began to say but she cut him off.

“Jack, you need to leave,” she whispered, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Els-,” he tried again but her head snapped up and her angry eyes focused on him and silenced him.

“Go now, Jack, and don’t ever come back here,” she hissed.

Jack gulped and said, “Please don’t ask this of me.”

Elsa’s fingers dug into the center of her chest and she gasped, “Leave me Jack and don’t come back.”

Jack stared at her, looking for any sign of resistance but saw none. He paused either way, hoping she would change her mind. Yet her expression remained hard and distant. He could almost read her mind as the words, “conceal, don’t feel” were being repeated in it.

“And what about the kiss?” He asked. Elsa cringed and her fingers seemed to dig deeper into the flesh of her chest almost as if she was trying to gouge out her own heart.

“It was a mistake. It should have never happened,” Elsa stated and Jack was wracked with an unexpected pain in his heart. He too clutched his chest then looked away from Elsa. He silently walked over to his staff and picked it off the wall.

He turned to Elsa, where she remained stoically standing, and murmured, “You…you were always in my thoughts and shall remain so. If…when you need me, I’ll be there for you. I’ll be there you…Always.”

Elsa met his gaze, tears were falling from her eyes, and she hoarsely whispered, “Go.”

“Always,” he repeated and disappeared from her room and, to his misery, most likely from her life as well. From that day forward, an ache developed in his chest. It was an ache that never went away and only worsened when he thought of Elsa.


	5. Winter’s Caress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains spoilers for Disney's Frozen and sexual content. 
> 
> Readers are also strongly warned that reading this chapter may result in getting "Let it Go" stuck in their heads...

The ache in his chest never went away and Jack found himself always thinking about Elsa. He thought of their friendship but also thought of new things: he thought of her sad smile, wet with tears, he thought of her newfound beauty, but, most importantly, he thought of the single, chaste, and brief kiss they shared. He would find himself continuously tracing where her lips touched his and he would wonder the impractical…Was it possible for a spirit to fall for a human? Jack could never contemplate an answer to his quandary. Being like that with Elsa seemed surreal. He was tempted to talk to Cupid about it but did not want the other spirits to know (Cupid was one of the biggest gossips he knew). Subsequently, he kept silent about it and did not even bring it up with North.

It was years later and in the middle of summer when Jack felt the familiar icy spike in his chest once more. Winter returned to Arendelle way ahead of schedule and he knew it was Elsa again. Jack hesitated this time as he remembered the last time he saw Elsa. She did not want him but… He thought of the kiss again and it settled his resolve. He would go to her.

Arendelle was coated in snow. It looked like it was in the thick of winter instead of the middle of summer. It was night so he was able to go to Arendelle without fear of the summer sun yet as he looked at the altered landscape, complete with winter clouds, he knew he would not have to worry about it.

Jack flew straight to the castle and was drawn to the huge crowd in the courtyard. Everyone was staring up into the sky in amazement as snow fell. Jack tried to look for Elsa’s familiar face in the large gathering but found Anna’s instead.

“Are you a monster too?!” A thin, shifty eyed man demanded of the princess as he hid behind two men. Jack gritted his teeth in anger. How dare he even suggest that of Anna?

“No, no,” Anna gasped. “I’m completely ordinary.”

Jack flew in front of Anna, as a young man behind her made a comment but he did not listen. He was half-hoping she would see him but her eyes passed over him without notice. He sighed but listened into their conversation to try and see what was going on.

“My sister’s not a monster!” Anna gasped.

“She nearly killed me!” The thin man whined, bordering on hysteria.

Jack’s hold on his staff tightened to a death grip. Elsa lost control in front of these people. This man clearly saw her as a monster. Where was she???

They never mentioned where Elsa disappeared to but Anna volunteered to find her. Jack’s heart soared as he listened to Anna bravely defend her sister. Despite everything she still loved Elsa.

Jack followed her as she charged out of the courtyard on the back of a large horse. He flew close and made sure the ground before the horse was never icy. He planned to follow her the entire way but there was a sudden spike of cold to the north.

Jack came to a stop and Anna kept riding away. He looked to the north and saw a range of snowy mountains. Jack looked to the distant Anna galloping along the mountain road. She would eventually be going there.

Jack adjusted his hold on his staff then pointed it north. The stick pulled him with a hard jerk and he muttered, “I’m coming Elsa.”

He flew through the peaks, battling the churning winter winds and blinding, swirling snow. He thought he would never find her until he came upon the impressive castle of ice. He immediately knew, without a doubt, that Elsa was in there.

He pointed his staff at it and was swooped down. He landed in front of the grand doors, at the top of the lofty stairs, and marveled at the intricacy of the structure. He reached out and touched the sleek ice, it was as freezing as normal ice but it thrummed with life. He lightly pressed the door and it pushed inward.

The inside was just as marvelous as the outside. There were two sweeping staircases with a frozen fountain in between them and above it all, stories up, was a fantastic icicle chandelier.

“Wow,” Jack whispered. The most impressive thing he had ever made was a pile of snow. He looked up to the second floor where there were two opposing hallways and more stairs. Elsa could be anywhere in this intricate fortress.

He gulped and yelled out, “Elsa!?”

She heard him. He knew she heard him because he could feel it in the air as it grew a few degrees warmer around him.

He heard her feet’s rapid tapping as they echoed off the walls. Then she appeared from one of the hallways at the top of the right stair. Jack’s jaw drop as soon as she appeared. She was stunning. The beauty of the castle paled in comparison to her.

Her pale blond hair was loosely bound in a braid and sprinkled with twinkling snowflakes. She wore a dress so cold that the ice it was made of had turned as blue as her eyes. Pale frost clung to her arms like silk and hung off the back of her dress in a long cloak. Yet the beauty of her dress was nothing in contrast to Elsa own loveliness.

“Jack!” She gasped. Her face split into a smile and Jack replicated her smile as soon as he saw hers. His cheeks strained as they tried to contain his grin. All his fears about her still hating him vanished as soon as he saw her smile. He pointed his staff at Elsa and it pulled him straight to her. He came to a hovering stop in front of her.

“Els-,” he began to say but she shot forward. She wrapped her arms around his neck and captured his lips with hers. Jack froze then, after a moment’s hesitation, tightly embraced Elsa to him. They rose into the sky, spinning leisurely as they did. This kiss was different than the first. The first was cold and tasted of Elsa’s salty tears. This one seared his lips and ignited within him a passion he did not know exist.

When they finally broke apart, Elsa smiled at him with half lidded eyes. Dazzled, Jack gasped, “Wow.”

Elsa giggled and it sounded like the tinkling of bells. They floated back to the ground and never broke eye contact as they did. When their feet lightly touched the ground they did not separate.

“What was that?” Jack asked. His lips tingled from the pressure of hers and he loved the feeling. He also loved the way she was looking at him and the way she felt in his arms. He never wanted to leave her side again.

Elsa smirked making her lips twitch in a way that made him want to kiss her again. She lightly stroked his arms with her fingertips and coyly retorted, “When I got here I decided to…let it go. No more concealing and more-more feeling. _More feeling this_ ,” she leaned in and kissed him again. This one was quick and definitely chaster but burned his lips all the same. Elsa continued, “And no more hiding this,” she said as she opened her palm and snowflakes shot out of her hand. They were the same clear blue that appeared from his staff. They turned white as they rose into the air and evaporated.

Elsa bit down on her lip and suddenly flushed. She looked down at his chest, suddenly uneasy, and asked, “Is this alright…I mean our kiss just now…was it-?”

Jack ran his hand through her hair, drawing her gaze back to him, and stated, “This is more than alright. This is incredible…”

She rewarded him with another dazzling smile. He drew her head back up to his and kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, then settled on her lips. He drew out their delicious flavor and slipped his tongue into her mouth. Elsa groaned and pushed her body flush against his.

A new heat pooled in his lower abdomen and he broke their kiss. He gripped her hips suggestively and his eyes searched hers as his gaze silently inquired about the need growing within them. Her blue eyes meet his blue eyes and they crinkled at the ends as she smiled with consent.

Jack laughed at lifted her off her feet with one hand. She sat on his arm and he gripped her upper thigh tightly.

“Up the stairs, down the hallway, first door on the right,” she whispered excitedly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her hands though her hair, breaking off frost as she did.

With his free arm he pointed his staff up the second set of stairs. They went down the hallway she had nodded to and went flying in that direction.

They came to a quick halt in front of the door she had indicated. Jack had to wrap both arms around her so he would not drop her and she laughed excitedly as she flailed and he barely caught her.

He kicked open the ice door, pausing briefly to admire the snowflake design carved into it. His attention instantly returned to Elsa as she stole his lips and her hands explored his body.

She slipped back to her feet and pulled him in the direction of a huge ice bed with a mattress made of soft snow. As she dragged him, she tugged at his clothes, untying his overcoat from his shoulders, pulling his shirt out from his waistband, and loosening his trousers. Her own clothes began to melt and Jack’s hands soon met flesh instead of ice. His staff slid from his hold and clattered loudly as he used both his hands to better explore Elsa’s body. She was soft and warm and his fingers could not touch enough of her. As he touched her, her soft moans were like music to his ears and enticed him to do more.

Elsa pulled away from him as the last of her clothes melted and she slipped onto her icy bed. She sunk into the soft snow up to her waist and she reached out to him. Jack drew his shirt over his head then let his already loosened trousers fall from his hips. He stood naked before her and by the glint in her eyes he knew she liked what she saw.

He slipped into the bed and pressed his naked body against Elsa’s. He pushed her down until they were parallel and completely flush. Elsa threw her head back with a sharp gasp from the contact. Her body burned his and was giving off so much heat that it threatened to melt the bed. It would have been water within seconds if it were not for Jack willing the cold from his body to envelope them both.

The feel of her body against his made him dizzy with desire and he wanted to lose himself in her but he paused. He kissed her lips hard then drew back and gasped, “Elsa, are you sure-?”

“I love you, Jack,” she whispered, her gaze sincere. “I don’t want to deny it anymore. You are the only person who totally understands me, the only person who I don’t have to worry about hurting, the only person who makes me feel alive! My heart literally throbbed and felt like a heavy weight when I was alone and thought of you. Yet now that I’m with you it feels light as air. Like at any moment…I can fly.”

Memories of his own heartache came back to him. She placed her hand on his chest and his heart raced beneath her touch. His heart did not feel like it could fly but it certainly came alive whenever he was near her. He thought back to all the time they spent together and how happy and alive he felt when he was with her… As a child she was his best friend but now…

“I love you too,” he whispered, placing a hand over her hand on his chest. She shot up and kissed him with her hot, searing lips. Her heart beat madly against his chest and Jack only noticed it for a moment before Elsa’s hands drew his attention elsewhere.


	6. Winter’s Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains spoilers for Disney's Frozen

“And this is the parlor,” Elsa said.

“Mmm Hmm,” he murmured into her flesh. He lazily kissed her neck, not paying any particular attention to the room as his hands and eyes explored Elsa’s body. They were clothed again but Jack could not get his hands off her.

“You’re not paying attention,” Elsa laughed as she spun in his arms. She laid her hands on his chest and kissed him. She broke their kiss but playfully rubbed her nose against his.

“You are distracting,” Jack replied with a smirk. He bent his neck and kissed her again as she giggled.

“Elsa?” Anna voice echoed down the hallway. “It’s me, Anna.”

“My sister!” Elsa hissed. She pushed Jack off her and quickly ran her hands through her hair and patted down her dress. “How do I look?” She asked.

“Beautiful,” he whispered and she smiled graciously at him before spinning around and sprinting down the hallway. She same to a halt just before the stairs then slowly rounded the corner.

“Anna?” She asked, trying to sound calm but he could tell she barely contain her excitement. She stepped down the stairs and disappeared from his view. They continued talking but their voices were muffled and he could not understand what was being exchanged. He chuckled to himself and wandered down the hallway and back to the bedroom.

His staff lay where he had dropped it. He picked it up and spun it around in his grip a few times before placing it against the wall. He spun around the room a few times then fell back onto the mattress. The soft snow rose around him in a big puff and settled back down on him in flakes.

He sighed loudly and waited. He crossed his fingers and his toes as he wished for the sisters’ reunion to go well.

He did not notice the snowflakes begin to fall until they were coming down heavily. He sat up sharply and looked around. There was a blizzard of snow in the bedroom and the hallway. Jack shot out of the bed and grabbed his staff. As soon as he touched it, it jerked him off his feet and pulled him to the top of the grand staircase. The snow was in a flurry in the main room too but both of the young women were not there.

He heard their stifled voices down the opposite hall. He flew up a second level of stairs and to the balcony that overlooked Elsa’s frozen kingdom. Elsa and Anna stood feet apart in the middle of the worst of the storm.

“Anna, please, you’ll only make it worse!” Elsa yelled.

“Don’t panic,” Anna pleaded.

“There’s so much fear!” Elsa gasped, wild eyed.

“We’ll make the sun shine bright!”

“You’re not safe here!” Elsa gasped as she spun around to face her sister. Fear was etched into her features. Jack flew to her side and she did not notice him.

“We can face this thing together!” Anna said and Elsa paled.

“No!” She wailed.

“We can change this winter weather,” Anna implored, stepping closer to her sister. Elsa closed her eyes and put her hands over head as if to block it all out. She began turning with no direction and groaning as Anna continued. “And everything will be all right!”

All the snow suddenly disappeared as Elsa absorbed it all inside herself. She released it with a swing of her arm as she screamed, “I CAN’T!”

The world slowed as Jack saw the collective ice she throw shimmer with the winter’s blue magic.

“No,” he gasped, his lips felt sluggish as he said it. He reached out with his own power to try to stop it but was not quick enough. Some of the ice hit Anna square in the chest and she staggered like her mother had when Jack hit her with his own magic.

Jack flew to her side and tried to catch Anna but his hands went through her. She fell to her knees clutching her chest with quick, shallow breaths.

Elsa turned around and when she saw her sister she inhaled sharply with horror.

“Anna!” A young man ran into the room followed by an animated snowman. Jack had to do a double take on the snowman. He almost thought it was Frosty but this snowman was smaller and did not have a top hat.

“I’m okay,” Anna gasped. “I’m fine.”

“No, you are not!” Jack retorted. He turned to Elsa and said, “Tell her she is not fine! She has to go to the trolls who healed her as a child NOW!”

But all of Elsa’s attention was focused on Anna. She did not hear him or she was ignoring him. To Anna she said, “Who’s this?! Wait-It doesn’t matter! It’s just-You have to go!”

Elsa was shaking and wringing her hands together nervously. Above and around them ice began to crack and darken. Jack tore his attention away from the quarreling sisters and looked up at the rupturing structure. He tightened his grip on his staff and an uneasy breath escaped him.

There was a sudden explosion of winter magic, drawing Jack’s attention back to the sisters. Between them a colossal snowman grew.

“Elsa, what are you doing?” Jack gasped. For the first time since Anna came, Elsa heard him and met his eyes just as her gigantic snowman forcibly grabbed Anna and her companions.

There were tears in her eyes as she whispered, “I have to let it go Jack, all of it, including my sister.” The snowman dragged the trio out of the room despite their protests. Anna screamed for her sister the entire way and Elsa shrunk away from the sound.

“Whatever happened to no more concealing?” Jack demanded.

“Anna is safer without me in her life,” Elsa stated. “I can only hurt everyone else!” She laughed sarcastically and said, “Even now I am hurting the people of Arendelle!”

“You are hurting yourself by pushing her away,” Jack gasped. “You yourself said you can never hurt me. Please, Elsa, have that snowman bring them back here. Let’s all talk calmly and-.”

“No!” Elsa gasped. “I can’t, Jack.” She grasped his arms then let herself fall into his chest. He automatically wrapped his arms around her and she continued, “I try to be calm but I get scared and when I get scared the ice comes. I can’t stop it. I can’t control it. I don’t want to hurt her, Jack. I love her. She’s my baby sister and I don’t want to hurt her anymore than I already have!”

He held her tightly as he thought back to the ice blast Anna received moments ago from Elsa. She hurt her again and did not know. He could not tell her.

“I have to go,” he whispered in Elsa’s ear.

Elsa’s fingers dug into his flesh and she gasped, “Why?”

“I’m…I’m going to make sure Anna and the others leave the mountain safely,” Jack said. True, he wanted to see Anna off safely but not just off the mountain but to the trolls. He smiled sadly and said, “We don’t want them to be crushed by an avalanche on their way down the mountain.”

Elsa copied his sad smile and said, “Okay, yes, you’re right. Yes, you should go.”

He ran his hands through her hair and whispered, “I will be back as soon as possible…I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered and kissed him. She pushed him back and said, “Go, go before I drag you back to my bed.”

Jack groaned and said, “Don’t tease me.”

He slipped from her with one last kiss and lifted his staff over his head. He rose into the air above her, watching her as he did. He wished he did not have to leave her. She looked as fragile as ice as she stared up at him with her big blue eyes.

He left her without another word. As he flew away, unknown to him, the castle behind him grew sharp spikes and darkened to red and purple as Elsa worried.

Anna and her companions had already gained some distance so it took him some time to find them. When he ultimately found them they had already gone down a sheer cliff and were making their way off the mountain.

Jack swooped down beside Anna. The white streak in her hair had grown. Jack gulped nervously and sarcastically asked with a shaky voice, “You wouldn’t happen to be able to see me now, would you?”

Anna gave no recognition that she heard him and Jack sighed. This was not going to be easy.

Yet Anna’s companion, Kristoff, saw the danger and, with no push from Jack, the crew made their way to the trolls. Jack followed. Anna’s close contact with the winter magic worried him. He wanted to make sure the trolls helped her.

They were quick to reach the valley of the trolls where no snow could ever linger. Anna and Kristoff were talking and it was clear to Jack that this man saw the trolls as his family. Yet Anna did not notice until the trolls began rolling toward them. The trolls immediately assumed they were a couple and before the pair could get a word out the trolls began to plan their relationship and wedding.

Jack floated above and had to hold back his laughter as the trolls totally misunderstood Anna and Kristoff’s relationship. The trolls had dressed them, set up an alter, and had their vows ready in a few minutes. The looks of shock on their faces made Jack laugh uncontrollably. He spun in the air, clutching his stomach as he did.

It all came to a stop when Anna collapsed under her own weight.

“She’s as cold as ice,” Kristoff gasped. Jack fell to their side and hovered over Anna. She was as pale as her sister.

The chief troll rolled up. His eyes fell on Jack and narrowed. He gravelly stated, “There is strange magic here.” His eyes flickered to Anna and he said, “Come, come, bring her here to me.” Kristoff moved her over to the chief and Anna placed her hands in the troll’s stony hands. “Anna, your life is in danger. There is ice in your heart put there by your sister.” The troll’s eyes focused on Jack again and fixed him with a glare. He knew Jack was to blame. Ashamed, Jack backed away and waited until Kristoff carried Anna away and they raced off in the direction of Arendelle’s castle.

Jack gradually floated down to where the chief of the trolls waited.

“Did you hear?” The troll asked gruffly.

“She needs the gift of true love,” Jack replied.

“And she thinks this Hans is the one but she does not see the way my boy looks at her. Kristoff could heal her if she would only just open her eyes,” the chief stated with a shake of his large stone head.

“I will go with them,” Jack said. “I will make sure Anna is cured!”

He rose a few feet but stopped when the troll hissed, “Jack Frost, don’t you dare interfere anymore in this.”

“I have to-!” He gasped.

“No,” he growled. “You don’t.” He stepped closer to the edge of the stone he stood on and pointed an accusing finger at Jack. He continued, “I can smell her sister on you. You _lay_ with a human!?”

“I love her,” Jack hissed.

“Tell me, boy,” the troll hissed. “What will you do when she ages and you remain the same? What of when she wants children? Most importantly, how is she supposed to explain you to her family? No one but her can see you. They will think she is insane! Will you really still stay with her knowing all this?!”

Jack recoiled from the troll as if the words he spouted were fire not air.

“Spirits and humans are never supposed to form relationships and for very good reason,” the troll explained. “End this now before you totally lose your heart to her.”

Jack clutched his chest and knew it was too late.

 

Jack flew back to Elsa but she was gone. The bridge to the castle was missing a large section and the inside was in shambles. Her colossal snowman was left behind growling pathetically in the cavern beneath the ice bridge. The tracks leading up to the castle were of hoof and man prints. As soon as he saw them, Jack knew others came after Anna from Arendelle and they had succeeded where she failed.

Jack gripped his staff with an angry growl and pointed it to Arendelle. He flew toward the capital city so fast that he barely could hold onto his staff.

A snowstorm ravaged the city. The powerful winds whipped up thick loads of snowflakes and thick ice and snow covered all the buildings. Everything was white.

“Elsa!” He called out to her but his voice was carried away on the wind. He could hear it echo away from him.

“Kristoff!”

Anna’s voice called out from the bleak landscape. Jack spun around. What was Anna doing out here?! The storm was too cold for humans!

“Anna!” He called out despite the fact he knew she would not hear him. He could hear her whispering Kristoff’s name. She was close to him.

Out of nowhere the snow and winds all disappeared. Anna stood, hunched over a few feet away from him. Jack shot over to her. Her hair was completely white and her hands were frozen blue. She was struggling to stand and breathe.

“Oh, Anna,” Jack gasped. She never received her act of true love. She was going to die.

Anna’s eyes saw beyond him and focused on Kristoff’s distant figure. She gasped his name through trembling lips. Kristoff began to run toward her and Anna shuffled toward him. Jack watched the two with awe, she might survive just yet.

The sound of hissing steel caught both Anna and Jack’s attentions. Jack turned around and felt his heart freeze over. A man stood over Elsa with his sword drawn over his head. He was going to kill her.

Anna ran through him and broke him out of his shock.

He and Anna reached her sister’s side at the same time. They both reached up and together pushed the man back, Anna with her hard ice hand and Jack with a pulse of cold wind. Jack grinned victoriously at Anna but his grin quickly fell.

Anna had turned to ice. One more puff of air escaped her blue lips then no more. She was gone.

He stepped back and his eyes fell on the hunched form of Elsa behind her sister.

“Elsa,” he whispered, drawing her attention.

Elsa twitched upon hearing his voice then her eyes fell upon her sister. Her blue eyes widened with the up-most terror and she cried, “ANNA?!”

She pushed Jack aside and fell upon her sister. She cupped her sister’s face whispering silent pleas to her frozen sister. When she did not answer, Elsa enfolded Anna into her embrace and began to weep.

Jack looked down at his feet and strangled his staff with his hands as Elsa cried. It was so unfair. How could-?

“Anna?!” Elsa’s change in voice drew his eyes back up and, to his surprise, he saw Anna unfrozen. Anna’s arms were wrapped around her older sister and Elsa held her sister with no fear. They pulled apart, staying connected through clasped hands, and whispered excitedly to each other.

Elsa caught his eyes over her sister’s shoulder and she smiled widely at him.

“An act of true love can thaw a frozen heart!” The little snowman gasped excitedly.

“Love will thaw…” Elsa repeated. Her eyes focused on Jack and he remembered the amazing heat she gave off as they made love. He saw it dawn in her eyes too. She turned to her sister and stated, “Love. Of course!”

“Elsa?” Anna asked.

“Love!” Elsa replied. She swept her arms above her and the snow began to float away. The summer sun broke through the departing clouds and burned Jack. He hissed as his skin crackled and blistered.

Elsa looked up at him in alarm.

“I will be back tonight!” He promised Elsa then flew to the safety of the south.


	7. Winter's End

Arendelle’s castle glowed with a blue ice roof and its tallest spire was mounted with an enormous blue snowflake that reflected the light of the moon. Elsa was home.

Jack flew to Elsa’s bedroom. Her windows were open and welcome. He quietly flew through the window panels and landed on the wooden flooring with a light tap.

“Jack,” Elsa whispered. She rose from a plush chair and joined him in seconds. She wrapped her arms around his torso and drew him in for a kiss. Jack cupped her cheeks and pulled her mouth harder onto his. She moaned into his mouth, capturing his desire.

“I want you,” she gasped into his lips. Jack’s kisses slowed to a stop. He opened his eyes and peered at her lovely face. Elsa’s face pinched with confusion. She asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jack smiled bitterly at her and said, “Tonight…Tonight has to be our last night.”

Elsa jerked in his hold and gasped, “What?”

“I’m a spirit, Elsa,” he tried to simply explain. “You’re human…We cannot be together.”

Elsa looked away from him and bit down on her trembling lip. She kept her hands on him but had loosened her hold so that her hands were merely resting on him instead of gripping him.

“Remember when I told you I let it go?” She asked in a hushed whisper and she cast her eyes at his chest. “I-I realized earlier today that I can’t let it all go. I have responsibilities, friends, and family. I am the Queen of Arendelle and I cannot let it all go but…but I will let you go.” Her eyes rose and met his. Her blue eyes were moist and as he cupped the side of her face she smiled at him. In her gaze he saw understanding and relief. She must have also been thinking about this but had feared how Jack would react. “I will let you go, Jack Frost but I will never let you go from my heart.”

“Neither will I,” Jack whispered in promise.

“One more night?” Elsa asked hopefully.

“One more night,” Jack agreed.

Elsa bent her head to the side and drew him in.

They moved slowly to try to prolong the night. Every touch, every kiss, and every sigh was treasured. Jack stayed with Elsa until the summer sun’s rays peeked over the horizon and threatened to burn him.

Neither of them said goodbye. They merely exchanged sad smiles and Jack kissed her forehead. He left her without another word and never turned back as he did.

**.**

**.**

**.**

After a year of never-ending hurt and temptation, Jack ended up in North’s private workshop in what he deemed as “his” corner. He sat with his knees up to his chest and his arms wrapped tightly over the top of them. The bottom half of his face was buried in his arms and his eyes stared out into nothing.

“Cupid said he hit you with one of his best arrows,” North murmured from his bench.

“Bastard,” Jack cursed into his arms. His tears froze onto his face and his fingers dug into the flesh of his arm.

“Yes,” North murmured. “He is going to be on the naughty list for a long, long time.”

“Can he take it back?” Jack asked. “Whatever the arrow did-Can he-?”

“No,” North replied and Jack groaned.

“Is there anything I can do to make this go away?”

North paused in his work and sat up with a straight back. He spun on his chair and faced Jack. He looked down at Jack particularly and asked, “Do you really want to get rid of your feelings for Queen Elsa?”

Jack shook his head and said, “No, just the hurt and the need...the need to be with her...”

His heart never seemed to be able to beat the same again and felt as if it were being stabbed by a sharp pick whenever he thought of her. He always thought of her and missed her like no other. Everything reminded him of her: his own frost reminded him the cold silk of her dress; the sky reminded him the blue of her eyes; freshly fallen snow reminded him of her snow mattress and her soft flesh. He never noticed how lonely his job as the spirit of winter was until he could no longer see Elsa. The world had become devoid of meaning without her there beside him. This was what North had warned him of and he had wished he had heeded his warning.

He could not count the number of times he almost went back to her. Once he got as close as her bedroom window. He stared at sleeping form for hours before forcing himself to leave. He knew he was eventually going to break and talk to her. When he eventually relented he knew he would not be strong enough to leave her again.

North sighed heavily, slid off his chair, and knelt in front of Jack. He laid his large, heavy hands on Jack’s shoulders. Jack looked up and whispered, “It’s only going to get worse, North. If I don’t go back to her she’s going to forget me, she’s going to get married, and she’s going to get old. _She’s going to die_! What am I going to do then?! How am I supposed to handle this then?!”

“You don’t…have to,” North murmured.

Jack’s gaze shot up and focused on North. He demanded, “What do you mean?!”

“Toothiana, the tooth fairy,” North stated. “She can take your memories away and make you forget you ever met Elsa. In time you can choose to remember again. Toothiana will hold onto the memories for you…Perhaps it would be best for her to hold onto the memories until Elsa has passed on and you are ready to handle it…” He paused for Jack to respond. When he did not, North asked, “Jack?”

North waited for him to answer. Jack closed his eyes tightly and whispered, “Call her.”

Toothiana came within the hour, escorted by a dozen, buzzing fairies the size of humming birds. She and her fairies looked like hummingbirds with their sleek, green feathered backs and feathered tails. Toothiana had large purple eyes framed by dark lashes tipped with circular, clear jewels. She and her fairies fawned over Jack’s teeth until North stated her purpose for being there.

“Are you sure about this, Jack Frost?” She asked him, her voice filled with sorrowful compassion.

Jack closed his eyes and thought back to all the years he spent with Elsa. He had watched her grow up from a baby and as soon as she was walking he had developed a friendship with her which quickly evolved into something more when she became an adult. He thought of her laughter, her smile, her touches, her kisses…He thought of her love and placed his hand over his chest. He did not want to lose it and lose her but he could not handle the pain caused by all of this. Maybe in a few centuries he will be strong enough to handle it.

He was just going to temporarily…let it go.

 

To Be Continued In,

**The King, the Queen, and the Guardian**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
>  
> 
> It was an exciting process writing this and I hope ya'll had fun as well! :)
> 
> Link to second installment: http://archiveofourown.org/works/1760409/chapters/3764001


End file.
